Your Immigration Lawyers

11/20/2024

🚨 What a Second Trump Presidency Could Mean for Business Immigration 🚨

As the U.S. prepares for potential policy shifts under Donald Trump’s leadership, the stakes are high for businesses hiring foreign talent, investors fueling local economies, and entrepreneurs driving innovation.

In my latest Business Immigration Uncovered newsletter, I explore how stricter enforcement, a business-oriented perspective, and evolving immigration strategies could shape the future for employers and foreign nationals alike.

📌 What challenges and opportunities might lie ahead?
📌 How can businesses adapt to an evolving immigration landscape?
📌 Why is legal immigration a critical driver of U.S. economic growth?

Dive into the article to uncover insights, practical strategies, and an optimistic outlook for those navigating this complex environment.

💬 I’d love to hear your thoughts—how do you see these changes impacting your business or goals? Let’s start a conversation!

As Donald Trump returns to the White House, the implications for business immigration are crucial for employers, investors, and entrepreneurs. His past presidency emphasized tighter immigration controls, yet his business acumen could shape policies benefiting economic growth.

04/24/2024

USCIS Increases Auto-Extension Period for Certain EADs from 180 to 540 Days – Offers Guidance for Completing Form I-9

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a temporary final rule (TFR) that increases the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. Despite USCIS’s efforts to reduce processing times of the Form I-765, this change was deemed necessary to prevent gaps in employment authorization for eligible noncitizens who have timely filed their EAD renewal applications, as such gaps can lead to significant disruptions to both the noncitizens and to the operational continuity of the U.S. businesses that employ them.

The extended automatic extension period applies to individuals whose Forms I-797C, Notices of Action, have a "Received Date" on or before October 26, 2023. For applications filed on or after October 27, 2023, the automatic extension will revert to 180 days. This adjustment aims to mitigate the impact of processing delays on noncitizens and their employers by ensuring continued work authorization while renewal applications are pending.

USCIS also provided guidance to U.S. employers in terms of updating Forms I-9 to include the increased 540-day extension duration period.

For new hires or rehires completing new Forms I-9:

-- The new hire should list the extended date of work authorization using the “Noncitizen eligible to work until” field;

-- The employer should use the EAD to complete Section 2 of Form I-9; the receipt number should be taken from the Form I-797C and used to complete the “document number” field in Section 2. The extended expiration date should be listed and match that used in Section 1.

-- The employer should list “EAD EXT” in the Additional Information field of Section 2.

For existing employees with valid employment authorization as of April 8, 2024, who are now eligible for the 540-day extension, USCIS guidance indicates that Section 2 may be amended to update the expiration date as follows:

-- Employers should enter “EAD EXT” and the auto-extended date (EAD EXT mm/dd/yyyy) based on the “Card Expires” date on the EAD.

04/04/2024

USCIS has just released a factsheet on their processing times of various petitions and applications for immigration benefits, and the results are impressive. They highlight average processing times for naturalization at 5.2 months, the lowest since 2016; 3.6 months for employment authorization documents from adjustment applicants, the lowest since 2017; 4.4 months for advance parole documents, the lowest since 2018; and 2.7 months for non-premium Forms I-129, which would include H-1B, L-1A/B, and E-2 classifications. Check out the full factsheet here:https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/fact-sheets/historical_pt_factsheet_fy16_to_fy24.pdf

04/01/2024

The U.S. immigration service announced today that the FY2025 H-1B lottery selection process has been completed and the winners have been contacted. Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate a selection rate of somewhere between 20-30%, which seems in line with years past. It'll be interesting to see how many registrations went into this year's H-1B lottery hopper.

Congrats to those who were selected. To those who weren't, there are alternatives to the H-1B that you may be eligible for, such as TN, O-1, L-1, E-2, or perhaps a concurrent H-1B piggybacked on a part-time H-1B with a non-profit. Reach out to me to discuss options that may be available to you.

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/notice-of-fy-2025-h-1b-cap-initial-registration-selection-process-completion-and-cap-season

02/02/2024

USCIS Provides Initial Instructions for FY2025 H-1B Cap Season

11/07/2023

On 10/20/23, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services and Department of Homeland issued a proposed rule to amend the H-1B regulations. It has been many

11/07/2023

Effective November 1, 2023, all employers must use the revised, current version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, with the edition date of

11/07/2023

Certain applicants who are seeking to renew their Employment Authorization Document (EAD) now qualify for an automatic 180-day extension of employment

11/07/2023

On 10/23/2023, the White House issued Executive Order 14110 on artificial intelligence, which includes several immigration-related provisions designed in part

11/07/2023

The U.S. offers 55,000 green cards each fiscal (government) year to natives of countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S. For the

11/07/2023

In July 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the creation and implementation of a family reunification parole process (FRP) for certain